Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 98 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 288.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $62,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,237,877,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $2.62 on Tuesday, reaching $474.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,626,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,707. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $479.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $340.68 and a 12 month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.